


Just Looking

by orphan_account



Category: Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X & Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy X-2
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 13:53:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5499500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somewhere in the middle of a sphere hunt, a Cactuar fight, and Leblanc's wedding, Logos finds himself falling for Brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place after the good/perfect ending of Final Fantasy X-2, so there are some minor spoilers. I didn’t provide translations to the few things Brother says in Al Bhed since the story is from Logos’s POV, but if you’d like to know what he’s saying, Google for “Al Bhed translator.”

Visiting the Gullwings had been Leblanc’s idea. The two gangs of sphere hunters hadn’t seen each other since they had together defeated Vegnagun a few weeks before, which led Leblanc to declare it was high time the Syndicate visited their “dear friends.”  Logos had the feeling she really just wanted to be sure the Gullwings weren’t on to any good spheres the Syndicate hadn’t heard about.  Still, he didn’t really mind. It was less boring than sitting around Guadosalam, and since Leblanc’s idea of hunting spheres was to follow the Gullwings on their own hunts anyway. . . well, it just made things simpler.  Plus, it gave Logos a chance to be around the most recent focus of his fantasies.

Like most men, he found the former summoner Yuna, as well as her partners Rikku and Paine, quite attractive, as his own amateur sphere recording revealed. But years of dealing with Leblanc had made Logos especially attuned to the quirks and irritabilities of women—and had given an appreciation for other men that could only be understood by someone who had to put up with Spira’s most demanding woman day in and day out.

Nevertheless, just why Logos had fallen for the self-proclaimed leader of the Gullwings was less easily explained.  In fact, Logos would probably never figure it out himself. Brother was everything Logos was not—unreserved, heavily tattooed, and very, very loud. Yet somehow, here Logos was, sitting next to the Al Bhed at the _Celsius’s_ bar and listening to him talk about Yuna. Again.

It didn’t seem to matter to Brother that Yuna was happily reunited with her true love. In fact, Brother and Tidus got along surprisingly well. But in spite of it all, Brother still bent the ear of whoever would listen with praise for the girl with the mismatched eyes, especially after he had been drinking a while. And at this point, Logos was just about the only one who _would_ listen.

“And then,” the Al Bhed was saying, waving his glass around in the air, “there wash the time she fell down the hole, right, and I thought she wash gone forever!” He sniffed pitifully, sounding rather like a Hypello due to the alcohol he had ingested. “It wash the worst day of my life!”

“I’m sure,” Logos replied coolly. He was relieved when they were interrupted by the beep of the CommSphere intercom which connected the bar with the airship’s bridge.

“Brother?” Buddy’s voice echoed through the bar. “We’ve got a malfunction in the engine room. I think it’s just a problem with some wiring, but we can’t spare anyone up here. Go take a look, will you?”

“But I am busy!” Brother retorted. “I wash telling Logosh about when Yuna—”

Buddy sighed. “ _Brother_. Engine room. Now.”

“But—”

“Come on.” Logos hauled Brother up by the arm, leaning down to speak into the CommSphere. “I’ll make sure he gets there, Buddy.”

“Thanks.” Judging from the tone of his voice, Buddy was glad someone else had to deal with Brother for a while.

\--

Logos hoped Brother would lose his train of thought by the time they reached the engine room, but he had no such luck. In fact, it was getting worse, as the Al Bhed was growing maudlin.

“If only she loved me,” Brother lamented as he opened a panel and peered at the wires inside, illuminated by a red error light.

“There _are_ other people in the world, you know.”  Logos stood behind him, arms folded across his chest and a characteristic frown on his face.

“But no one like Yuuuuna,” Brother wailed. “No one else is nice to me like her!”

“For Yevon’s sake!” Logos snapped. “What do I have to do to make you be quiet about her?”

Brother looked at him with a hurt sniffle.  The Al Bhed really wasn’t unattractive at all, Logos thought. For instance, you could get lost in those wide green eyes. He had the fullest lips Logos had ever seen on a man, and the way that thin, lithe body moved. . . . Logos shivered.

“You have to move on,” he stated, more to distract himself than for Brother’s sake.  “Yuna loves another.”

After a long silence, Brother retorted, “I know that.” He spoke so clearly that Logos blinked at him in surprise. “I am not stupid.”

_Maybe he’s not so drunk after all,_ Logos thought. “I don’t think you’re stupid,” he said aloud, choosing his words carefully. “It’s just a pity that you are wasting your affection on someone who cannot love you in return.”

“But what else am I supposed to do?” Brother twisted from side to side in one of his bizarre fits of movement, leaving Logos staring at his tattooed midsection lustfully.

The gunner shook himself mentally and drew his eyes back up to Brother’s.  “Let go of the impossible fantasy, and start looking for something real.”

Brother didn’t answer. After a moment of staring into space, he turned back to the faulty wiring and started tinkering with it.

“Are you sober enough to be doing that?” Logos asked, peering over his shoulder.

“Yes,” the Al Bhed muttered. His fingers moved quickly over the wires, doing something Logos couldn’t understand. Apparently it worked, for the panel gave a satisfied ding, and the harsh red light turned to a soothing green. Brother slammed the panel door closed with a triumphant grin.

“There. Another master repair!” He struck a pose so ridiculous, even Logos had to smile. “Time for another drink!”

“ _No_.” Logos grabbed the Al Bhed’s arm when he started for the elevator. “You’ve had more than enough.”

“But. . . Yuuuuna. . . .” Brother’s smile faded as his voice shifted back into its previous plaintive tones.

“ _Shut the fuck up!_ ” Logos screeched.  Brother’s mouth fell open, and Logos felt his cheeks flush.  He managed a haughty tone as he went on, trying to cover up his embarrassment at his loss of self-control.  “Did you not hear a word I said?”

“You—you swore at me!” Brother gasped.  “You never swear!”

“Because it was the only way to get anything through that thick skull of your—Ahh!” Logos broke off as Brother pounced on him, wrestling him up against the engine room wall.

“Do you even know what it’s like?  Have _you_ ever loved anyone?” the Al Bhed growled, his face inches from Logos’s. “Someone who loved another person instead of you?”

Pinned to the wall as he was, Logos could only look at the other man as he muttered, “Yes.  Someone too dim-witted to realize it!”

Brother’s green eyes widened as he stammered, “You. . . you’re not talking about Ormi are you?”

Logos felt a rather strong urge to laugh at that, but he restrained himself.  For one thing, laughter would undermine his efforts to calm Brother down, and for another, Logos had shown far too much emotion already.  He settled for grumbling, “No, you fool, I’m not talking about Ormi.”

“Praise Yevon!” Brother snickered. “If you told me you were in love with _him_ , I would be more worried about you than about me!”

“I certainly don’t need _you_ worrying about me,” Logos retorted. “Now will you please let me go?”

“Wait. . . I am having an idea.”  Brother flicked his eyes downward in thought as Logos groaned inwardly.  _This might take a while._

“We each want someone we cannot have,” Brother mused.  “And you say that I should start looking for someone else?”

“. . . Right. . . .”

“So!  I’ll start looking right now!”  Brother grinned widely, as if he had found a way to achieve world peace.

“Uh. . . _mmmpgh_!” Logos’s narrow eyes opened wide when the Al Bhed suddenly leaned forward and crushed their mouths together.  It was the last thing Logos had expected—that Brother would start “looking” at _him_.  Despite his own desire for Brother, Logos was overwhelmed, and he pushed the younger man away from him, though with gentleness.

 “Brother, I. . . we—we can’t,” Logos stammered.

Brother’s full lips turned down in a pout.  “Why not?  I’m just _looking._ ”

“If. . . if someone finds out—”

“No one comes to the engine room but me anyway,” Brother protested. “Well, sometimes Yuna sneaks in and raids the treasure chests, but other than that—anyway! We can go down here!” Logos found himself being pulled down into the small chamber under the entrance to the engine room. . . although to be honest, he didn’t really try to resist. Brother slapped a control panel on the wall, and the door to the little room closed. The only light came from the green buttons on the control panel and a dimly shining blue coil. They cast an eerie glow on Brother’s face, making his wide eyes glitter.

“There’s not enough room in here to turn around, much less—mmpgh!”  Logos broke off as Brother pushed him against one of the walls and kissed him again. Logos’s protests turned into a moan as the Al Bhed’s tongue delved into his mouth.

Logos was not what one would call a risk taker. The only person for whom he normally stuck his neck out was Leblanc, and that was because she would wring it if he didn’t. But even Logos couldn’t resist having the object of his desire pressed against him, kissing him deeply.  He laid his gloved hands against Brother’s tattooed sides, feeling the other man’s ribs under his spare flesh.  Brother moaned encouragingly into his mouth, leading Logos to pull off one of his gloves and trail his bare hand down the other man’s back.

“Mm, that’s nice. . . .” Brother squirmed under Logos’s touch and pushed his headscarf back a little to kiss his jawline. “I have a question though. Why do you look so annoyed all the time?  Just like Paine.  Rikku says she has ‘resting bitch face.’”

Logos scowled—or, he supposed, went into “active bitch face” mode—but he found it hard to maintain a grumpy expression as Brother nipped at his neck. “I do not—”

“Yes, you do!  You’re always frowning!”  Brother lifted his head to meet Logos’s eyes.  “You should relax and enjoy yourself more!”

“I don’t have time for that,” Logos protested.

“Blondie keeps you pretty busy, ya?” The Al Bhed gazed up at him with a sympathetic expression.

“Yes. My job is very demanding. Unlike yours, apparently.”

“I work very hard!” Brother retorted. “It is a very difficult job being leader. And very lonely.” Logos braced himself for another Yuna-centric spiel, but it didn’t come. Instead the Al Bhed leaned his forehead against Logos’s shoulder and sighed. “I end up spending a lot of time down here.”

Logos felt his face flush with indignation. “Oh, really. With whom?”

“What?” Brother lifted his head and blinked up at him. “I meant, I come here to. . . uh. . . .”

“Oh,” Logos stammered. “I thought. . . _oh_.”

Brother glared and pulled away, turning his back on Logos. “You think I sleep around? More lies about Al Bhed, we’re all _frunac_ \--”

“That wasn’t what I meant!” Logos sighed, feeling as if he were in an argument with Leblanc—in other words, that everything he said would be the wrong thing. He looked at Brother’s back a moment, then stepped up to the other man and wrapped his arms around him. Normally Logos would rather die than hug someone, but somehow embracing Brother wasn’t so bad.

“I’m sorry,” Logos muttered. “I don’t think that at all.”

Brother’s tense body relaxed against Logos’s chest. “You mean it?”

“Yes.” Logos tried to keep from kissing the pale shoulder pressed against him, but he failed miserably. His self-control was getting the nasty habit of fleeing when he was around Brother. The Al Bhed moaned and tilted his head back as Logos trailed caresses up his neck and jaw. “And. . . we can practice on each other, if that’s what you want.”

“Mmm, good.”  Brother turned in his arms to face him, catching his mouth in another kiss.

“But—” Logos kissed him one last time then reluctantly let him go. “—I need to get back to the bridge.  The boss is probably wondering where I am.”

“You sure?” Brother gave him a look with those green eyes that nearly made Logos forget all about Leblanc. Fortunately for the sake of his job, he was better trained than that.

“Yes, I’m sure. So unless you want her to find us down here, let’s go.” Logos thought he heard Brother mutter something about showing Leblanc a thing or two about being a leader, but he tried to ignore it.

They had finished their liaison just in time, it seemed; Leblanc was anxious to depart. _Probably heard about a new sphere,_ Logos thought with a tired sign. After Buddy dropped them off outside Guadosalam, Leblanc hurried in towards her chateau, barking orders to Ormi as she went. Logos was about to follow them when he heard his name called in a heavily accented voice. Catching his breath, he turned to see Brother hurrying up to him.

“Blondie forgot this,” Brother explained, holding out Leblanc’s fan. Logos took it, idly wondering where Brother got the right to call anyone else “Blondie” with that hair of his.  “And. . . thanks,” the Al Bhed added with a grin.  He grabbed Logos’s arm and pulled the taller man toward him. After making sure no one, particularly Leblanc or Ormi, was in sight, Logos allowed himself to be drawn against Brother, who kissed him with a ferocity that left the gunner breathless.

“Maybe. . . we could do it again sometime?” Logos ventured.

“Yes,” Brother murmured. “ _E mega oui_. . . .”

“What?”

“You had better go before your boss comes looking for you,” Brother chuckled. Logos couldn’t resist kissing him one last time before pulling away and hurrying towards Guadosalam. When he looked back, Brother had already disappeared back inside the _Celsius_.

\--

Leblanc had already gone up to her “ _chambre_ ” for a massage, claiming the high altitudes had made her back tense. Logos delivered her fan to the goon that guarded the door, then went back down to the living room. Ormi was checking to see if any food had been added to the permanent buffet set up there.

“Where were you?” Ormi asked Logos suspiciously. “I hardly seen you today.”

“I was helping Brother with some repairs to the engine,” Logos replied, picking up an apple.

“Sounds boring,” Ormi sniffed. “I didn’t know you was interested in mechanics.”

“Just some of them.”

“I wouldn’t trust that crazy Al Bhed to fix _anything_ if I was them,” Ormi muttered as he piled a plate high with meat and cheese.

“He’s not crazy.” Logos cast a glare at Ormi as he bit into his apple.

Ormi shrugged. “Whatever. His sister sure is cute though,” he grinned. “Runs her mouth a lot too. She said the Gullwings are going after a sphere in the desert during the next couple days, so the boss decided we’d go check it out tomorrow, before they got there.”

“Brilliant.” Logos glided off to his room before Ormi could ask any more questions about where he had been. He sat on the edge of the bed, finishing his snack as he tried to make sense of what had happened. He got as far as “I was making out with Brother” before everything went a bit hazy. Finally Logos decided to write it off as getting lucky. Despite what they had said before parting, he doubted the opportunity would arise again—and if it did, it would be better for them both not to take it.

Still, as Logos tossed away his apple core and got up to undress for the night, he couldn’t keep his thoughts from drifting back to the Al Bhed. The way Brother’s body had felt, his taste. . . . Logos shivered as he removed his hat and scarves. His long hair, normally pinned up and hidden, fell down his back, and he imagined Brother’s hands in it.

“Oh, stop it,” Logos muttered to himself as he swiftly braided his hair and got into bed. He had his hands full enough keeping the boss happy. The last thing he needed was a distraction. . . especially one as distracting as Brother.

\--

to be continued


	2. Chapter 2

The Syndicate reached the Bilkanel Desert late the next afternoon. Gossip around Guadosalam was that several spheres had been sighted in the Cactuar Nation, the area of the desert inhabited by sentient cacti and their young, the speedy Cactuars. The Al Bhed who were excavating the desert had agreed not to dig in the Nation to protect the cacti, so they knew little about what might lie in the shade of the great plants. Leblanc was not pleased with this.

“I am _not_ going to waste my time playing in the sand if there’s not a sphere out there!” she griped to the excavation’s leader, Nhadala.

Nhadala looked extremely unconcerned. “I don’t care what you do as long as you stay out of our way. If you want to dig, you can pay the hover driver to take you out to the Cactuar Nation.” She turned her back on the fuming Leblanc and began assessing someone else’s latest find.

“Hmph!” Leblanc snorted. She fanned herself rapidly and pursed her pink lips in a scowl. “Boys! Go out to that. . . that cactus country and look for the sphere! I’ll, uh. . . ask around for more information.” As she stalked off, Logos heard her mutter, “Hopefully I’ll find some in the shade. . . .”

“Great,” groaned Ormi, who was already mopping his face with a handkerchief. “How’re we supposed to find—”

He was interrupted by a noise like a thousand hovers flying by all at once. Logos looked up to see the _Celsius_ lowering itself over the camp. There was a slight buzzing sound as two blonde figures appeared next to the camp’s Save Sphere: Brother and Rikku.

“Buddy! You can’t do this to me!” Brother was shrieking. “I am your leader!”

“Paine, please!” Rikku waved her arms around in consternation. “Don’t leave me down here with him!”

Logos overheard Buddy’s voice coming through their radios. “Sorry, kids. Until you two can behave yourselves, you’re on your own to find that sphere.”

“Yuna!” Brother and Rikku cried at the same time. “Please!”

“I’m sorry,” Yuna replied, obviously trying to hide a giggle from her voice. “But we voted on it. We’ll come pick you up tomorrow!” Despite the siblings’ pleas, the _Celsius_ lifted out of its hovering position and flew away across the desert.

“My ship!” Brother wailed, then immediately turned on his sister. “This is all your fault!”

“Is not!” Rikku stuck her tongue out at him.

“Yes it is! If you didn’t talk so much—”

“Like _you_ don’t talk all the time!”

Ormi had perked up considerably at the sight of Rikku. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“This is all your fault too!” Brother snapped at him.  He folded his arms and turned his nose up in the air.

“Hunh?” Poor Ormi looked from one to the other, then shrugged at Logos.

Rikku heaved a sigh. “They’re all mad at me because I told you guys about the sphere that’s supposed to be here. Everyone else was getting over it, but _someone_ wouldn’t let it go!” she finished, glaring daggers at Brother.

“So you got dumped here as well?” Logos arched an eyebrow at her.

“Yes,” Brother sniffed. “They said that if we were going to fight about it, we could do it out in the desert while we found the sphere.”

“But I guess you guys are looking for it too, hunh?” Rikku chewed thoughtfully on the end of one of her braids.

“Yeah. Boss’s orders,” Ormi muttered.

“Well, why don’t we look for it together?” Rikku let her braid drop and smiled brightly. “With all four of us looking it shouldn’t take long. Then we could just sell it and split the money.”

Logos considered this a moment. Leblanc would have a fit if she knew—but Leblanc was probably sitting in the shade of some tent, sipping a cold drink while they were expected to sweat and dig their way to the sphere. He and Ormi could always claim the Gullwings just happened to find the sphere at the same time.  Not only would they find the sphere and get to a cooler climate faster, it also meant he would get to spend more time with Brother. Judging from the looks Ormi was giving Rikku, he wouldn’t mind either.

“All right,” Logos agreed. He looked at Ormi, who nodded.

“Well, _tuuvic_?” Rikku asked, glaring at Brother. Brother flailed his arms from side to side, then looked at Logos and nodded.

“Oh all right. Just keep your mouth shut next time, Rikku!”

Rikku rolled her eyes and flapped her hand in the air in an imitation of someone talking before she turned to grin at Ormi. “So, got any ideas where this sphere is?”

Ormi told her what they had heard about the Cactuar Nation as they walked to the hovers that ferried diggers to and from the excavation sites. Logos hung back and kept an eye on Brother, wondering if the Al Bhed were still upset that they knew about the sphere. Logos’s worries proved to be false when Brother glanced over his shoulder and gave him a little grin that nearly made Logos trip over his own feet.

The hover pilot took them out to the Cactuar Nation with a promise to return in an hour. Logos hung back from the others long enough to ask the pilot, “May I have your assistance in translating a phrase?”

“Uh, sure. What is it?”

Logos repeated what Brother had said to him the day before. “ _E mega oui_.”

The pilot smirked. “It just means, ‘I like you.’ What, heard it from that cute little blonde?”

“Erm, thank you,” Logos muttered as he blushed and hurried away.

“We should have brought Benzo with us,” Rikku was saying with a frown as she surveyed the cactus-filled landscape.

“Who’s Benzo?” Ormi asked suspiciously.

“An Al Bhed kid. . . . He’s the only person who can understand the Cactuars’ language.” She giggled a little. “It all sounds like chirping to me. But maybe we can get by without a translator.”

Rikku crouched down next to one of the large cacti, and for the first time, Logos noticed a small figure of a brighter green than the big plants. It was cactus-like in a way, except it had arms, legs, and a rather startled carved face.  It was a Cactuar.

“Hi there,” Rikku cooed at it. “Have you seen a sphere around here?”

The Cactuar squawked and darted behind the larger cactus, who waved its arms and made an amused chittering noise. Rikku looked up at it with a little sigh.

“Aww, I guess he’s scared of us. This must be his mother.”

“. . . His mother?” Logos arched an eyebrow.

“It’s a long story.” Rikku stood up and stretched. “Well, it looks like we’re on our own.”

Fortunately, Rikku still had the metal detector she had used on the Gullwings’ previous digs, but as the minutes passed by, they found only a few old coins and a potion. To make things worse, the cacti didn’t seem too pleased to have humans digging in their domain; they grumbled more and more noisily.

The three men took turns digging while Rikku controlled the metal detector.  As Ormi was scuffling through the sand and panting like a beached shoopuf, Logos felt something bump against his ankle. He looked down to see a Cactuar peering up at him curiously.

“Go on, shoo,” Logos grumbled, nudging it away with his toe. The heat was becoming oppressive, especially to someone wearing as many layers of clothing as Logos was, and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with walking, chittering cacti. The little creature didn’t seem daunted, however; it just walked around to his other side and continued to stare up at him. Logos tried to ignore it.

Ormi found nothing but a rusty spoon. He groaned and tossed it aside. “This sucks,” he declared, wiping the sweat from his eyes. “We’ll never find _anything_ out here. I bet there ain’t even a sphere at all!”

“Leblanc isn’t going to be pleased if there isn’t,” Logos commented.

“There _has_ to be! Give me that!” Brother cried, trying to snatch the metal detector from Rikku. “You’re just using it wrong!”

“Am not!” Rikku darted out of his reach. “You’ve never dug a day before in your life, and I ranked Beachcomber!”

“Hmph!” Brother folded his arms and glared at his sister. “If you’re so great, why haven’t you found anything good? I bet I could do better without the detector!”

“Oh yeah? Then let’s see you!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!” Rikku turned her back on him and stalked off towards some hills to the west. Brother shook his fist after her.

“ _Pedlr_!” He grabbed Logos’s arm and tugged him towards the north. “Come on, we can find it ourselves!”

Logos blushed, which earned him a curious look from Ormi. “I’ll go keep an eye on Rikku,” the larger man said. “Wanna meet at the hover when it comes back?” When Logos nodded, Ormi waddled off after Rikku, leaving Logos and Brother alone—except for the Cactuar, which was still lurking around Logos’s feet.

“Let’s try that cave!” Brother said, pointing at a hollow in the rocks to the north. Its entrance was marked with the glowing green outline of a Cactuar. The Cactuar following Logos squeaked in protest and tugged at the skirt of his coat.

“Maybe we’re not supposed to go in there,” Logos mused. “This little one doesn’t seem to like the idea.”

“Oh that probably means the sphere’s in there,” Brother replied as he headed for the cave. “He just doesn’t want us to find it!” Logos had to admit that made sense, although he was still concerned over the Cactuar’s reaction. What if something dangerous was in the cave?

If it was, Brother was heading straight for it. Logos hurried after him, ignoring the whimpering Cactuar. As he caught up to the Al Bhed, Logos noticed the wind picking up around them. Sand whipped up from the ground and dashed into his face, and he was thankful for the clothing that covered the rest of his body. He winced thinking about how the sand must feel on Brother’s bare back and chest.

“Do you see Rikku?” Brother asked, raising his voice over the wind.

“No, why?”

“I think there’s a sandstorm coming.” They both looked around, but Rikku and Ormi were nowhere in sight. To make things worse, the wind-borne sand quickly obscured their view of the desert landscape.

“Just wonderful,” Logos muttered. He looked down to see if his friend the Cactuar had any advice, but the little creature had disappeared. “I guess we _should_ go in the cave. At least we’ll have some shelter.”

By the time they reached the cave’s entrance, they could hardly see through the blowing sand. Brother grasped Logos’s hand and pulled him inside.  When they passed through the glowing Cactuar symbol, Logos felt a sense of foreboding. He was relieved to see a Save Sphere near the entrance; at least they could heal if any fiends attacked them.

“I think I know where we are,” Brother said abruptly. Logos didn’t like the expression on his face: it was the look of someone who had just remembered something very important.

“And where is that?”

“The Cave of the Rogue Cactuars.”

“. . . The what?”

“The Rogue Cactuars.”

Logos tried not to laugh. “That doesn’t sound very bad.”

“It _is_ bad,” Brother insisted, hurrying over to stand next to the Save Sphere. “Rikku and the other girls told us about it. It is where all the bad Cactuars live.” As Logos joined him at the Save Sphere, Brother went on, “They have the power to make any fiend grow to four times its size!”

“Oh.” No wonder the little Cactuar hadn’t wanted them to go in. Logos looked around nervously. “And you just now remembered this?”

“I had other things on my mind.” Brother sat down next to the Save Sphere. “Besides, we are safe here, near the entrance. I think.”

Logos sighed and sat down as well. “I don’t suppose we have much choice, at least until the sand storm is over.”

“I hope Rikku is all right,” Brother said after a minute. For all their fighting, Logos thought, he really did care about his sister.

“I’m sure she’s fine. Frankly, I’m more worried about Ormi.”

Brother smiled a little. “Ach, you’re right. Rikku can take care of herself.” He settled back against the wall.

“I think Ormi has a crush on her,” Logos went on disparagingly. Brother snickered.

“Yevon! I don’t know why.  She’s such a brat.” He shook his head. “Our father is pushing her to find a husband, but I don’t know who would put up with her for that long. She should take more after Yuna.”

Logos groaned inwardly at the “Y-word,” but Brother didn’t say anything else about the summoner. Instead he frowned a little. “If Rikku did get married. . . do you think she would leave the Gullwings?”

Taken aback, Logos replied, “I don’t know her very well. Wouldn’t you have a better idea—”

“We are not very close. No one in our family is.” The Al Bhed sighed and stretched out, lying down on the stone floor on his stomach, his chin resting on his folded arms. “But I think Rikku holds the Gullwings together, you know? Yuna stays because of her.”

“What about you? You’re the leader.”

Brother made a soft, mirthless laugh. “No. Everyone knows it is Yuna who is the true leader. And. . . I think she does like being a sphere hunter. But I also think she will not be one forever. She will want to marry Tidus soon.”

“And you don’t think she will stay with the Gullwings then?” Logos asked carefully.

Brother rolled over on his back, looking up at Logos upside down. “When Leblanc marries Nooj, will she keep hunting spheres?”

“You have a point.”

“If any of the girls leaves, it will be the end of us,” Brother said mournfully, closing his vivid green eyes. “The other two will not stay if one goes. Barkeep has already left us to get married, and with Shinra gone. . . .”

Logos gazed down at him.  He did not normally speak his thoughts aloud, but he wanted to cheer Brother up. . . and maybe convince himself of the merit of the idea he’d just had.  “Perhaps. . . if the Gullwings and the Syndicate disband someday, Ormi and I could join you instead.”

Brother opened one eye and grinned widely. “Yeah! Us and Buddy. . . we could find every last sphere in Spira!” He closed his eye again and yawned. “No girls to worry about. . . . It will be great.” He was still for so long, Logos thought he might have fallen asleep.

Logos was relieved at how casually Brother had mentioned Yuna’s almost certain marriage to Tidus. _Maybe he’s finally getting over her,_ Logos thought, his eyes tracing the firm jaw line of the Al Bhed. He found himself wanting to place kisses there, to press against the tattooed body sprawled messily on the floor. For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine that they did work as hunters together, that he got to spend every day with Brother. Every day and every night. . . .

_What’s gotten into me?_ Logos asked himself sternly. Ormi was the emotional one, not he. Nevertheless, he couldn’t resist leaning over the Al Bhed to touch their lips together.

Brother flung an arm up and grabbed Logos around the shoulders, holding him down and kissing him hard. When he finally let Logos go, the gunner sat up, blushing deeply.

“I. . . thought you were asleep.”

Brother just grinned up at him upside down, then reached up and grabbed Logos’s collar, pulling him down far enough to kiss him again.

“ _Oui’na cu payidevim_. . . .”

“Wh-what?” Logos stammered in between kisses.

“You just need to smile more,” the Al Bhed said inexplicably.  He slid his arms around Logos’s shoulders and pulled him closer, pressing his lips to the gunner’s neck.  Logos heard himself moan faintly as Brother nipped at his throat.  He slid a gloved hand over Brother’s tattooed chest, then bent his head to trace one purple flame with his tongue.

“ _Oac_ ,” Brother moaned as he squirmed on the stone floor.  He wriggled into a sitting position and pulled Logos against him before kissing him soundly.  Then Logos felt one of Brother’s hands traveling up the length of his thigh, and he panicked.  Kissing Brother was one thing, but anything more was getting far too involved.

“P-perhaps we should get some rest,” Logos muttered, pulling back from Brother. “Even if the storm ends soon, we won’t be able to look for the others in the dark.”  The Al Bhed looked up at him with a wounded, puzzled expression, then, when Logos wouldn’t meet his gaze, lay back down with his back to the gunner.

“All right,” Brother muttered.  Logos lay down as well and tried to sleep, but his eyes kept opening to study the tattoos on Brother’s back.  The Al Bhed was thin despite his broad shoulders, and Logos could see the ridge of his backbone beneath the tinted skin.  Something about Brother seemed fragile, and it made Logos feel guilty.

“Are you asleep?” he whispered.  Brother shook his head no without turning around.  Logos bit his lip, then moved over to lie behind the Al Bhed. He put his arms around the other man and pressed his lips to the back of his neck.

“ _E. . . e mega oui_ ,” he murmured slowly, hoping he got the words right.

“You. . . you know Al Bhed?” Brother stammered.

“Just that.”

“But you know what it means?”

“Yes.  I do like you.”

Brother grasped one of Logos’s hands in his and brought it to his lips, kissing the gloved palm softly. “I like you too.”

Logos covered them both with his coat and closed his eyes.  For the first time in his life, Logos fell asleep with another person in his arms, and he decided it was the best feeling in the world.

\--

to be continued


	3. Chapter 3

When Logos woke up, he had no idea of how long he had slept. Brother was curled up against him, his head resting against Logos’s chest and his legs tangled with the gunner’s. Logos smiled faintly, pressing his lips against the soft, feathery hair of the Al Bhed’s mohawk. . . then looked up to see Rikku staring at them from the entrance to a passageway, green eyes wide and pretty mouth agape.

As Logos stared back in horror, Rikku closed her mouth and appeared to be stifling a giggle, then brought her finger to her lips in a gesture for silence before disappearing back down the passageway. After a moment, Logos heard her yelling from a distance.

“Hey Ormi! I think this might be the way out!”

“Hunh?” Brother stirred and lifted his head. “Rikku?” Logos hastily extracted himself from the tangle of Al Bhed limbs and stood.

“It sounds like she’s heading this way.”

Brother scrambled to his feet as well. “Rikku!” he called. “Over here!” Rikku soon reappeared, this time followed closely by Ormi. Logos silently blessed the girl for not letting Ormi know what she had seen.

“What happened to you?” Brother exploded, flapping his arms in Rikku’s direction.

“I should ask _you_ the same thing,” Rikku sniffed. “ _We_ were looking for the sphere until the sandstorm came up. Good thing I remembered this cave had a back entrance.” She looked around, noticing the Save Sphere, and chuckled. “I see you two took the cowardly way out and just sat here all night.”

“Well, I hope you at least found the sphere while you were running around,” Logos said in Ormi’s direction, folding his arms. He didn’t want to get anywhere near the topic of what had gone on the night before.

“Uh, not yet,” Ormi muttered. “But I bet we got a lot closer than you did!”

“Yeah!” Rikku stuck her tongue out at Brother, who flipped her the chocobo in response. “Why don’t we look for it in the cave while we’re here?”

Logos looked doubtfully toward the entrance to the cave. “I really don’t think we should. Aren’t there fiends here?”

Rikku shrugged. “We haven’t seen any. Maybe all the rogue Cactuars have left.” She smirked and put her hands on her hips. “But if you’re too scared, Ormi and I’ll find the sphere. Right, Ormi?”  She winked at him, and Ormi nearly melted right into the floor.

“Yeah, that’s right!” He jabbed a finger in Logos’ direction. “Wait’ll I tell the boss we found it without ya!”

“Oooogh,” Logos fumed. “Fine! But if we get eaten or something, it’s your fault!”

Rikku led the little group back the way she and Ormi had come. Logos followed last, trying to take mental notes on their surroundings in case it would be up to him to find their way out again—which was highly likely.

“Awwww _shoot_ ,” Rikku cried up ahead. She had led them straight to a dead end.

“Riiikku,” groaned Brother. The girl turned and shrugged, shaking her head.

“Sorry. I could’ve sworn—hey, watch out! A fiend!” Rikku yelped, but she was too late.

“ ** _Owwwww_**!” Brother howled. Automatically Logos drew his guns and fired at the cloaked figure pulling a knife away from Brother’s bare back, which it had mercilessly poked. The short fiend rocked back on its wide feet and its hood fell away, revealing it to be a squat green Tonberry.

“That hurt!” Brother was wailing, rubbing his back as he darted away from the Tonberry to relative safety behind Logos.

“Oh, it’s just a Tonberry.” Rikku jumped forward and got in a jab with her own knives. The Tonberry didn’t react except to turn and trudge toward Ormi.

“Uh. . . what’s it doing?” Ormi asked nervously.

“It’s trying to stab you, you imbecile!” Logos snapped. He got off another shot, but nothing seemed to do very much damage to the short fiend. It lunged forward and drove its knife into Ormi’s midsection, which fortunately was covered with several layers of clothing that served as protection. Ormi pulled his shield off his back and hefted it at the Tonberry. It reeled a bit, then turned on Brother again. He edged away, only to have the creature doggedly follow him until it got close enough to jab him in the arm.

“ _No. . . more. . . stabbity_!” Brother screeched, clutching his arm to his chest.  Logos looked at it worriedly, expecting to see a gaping knife wound, but Brother wasn’t even bleeding.  “It still hurt!” the Al Bhed sniffed when Logos pointed out this fact. Meanwhile, the Tonberry was slowly shuffling towards Rikku, its wide fish-like tail waving from side to side.

“For Yevon’s sake, somebody do something!” the girl muttered, hopping from foot to foot and flapping her hands in the air. “It’ll take too long to kill it, but it’s not going to give up. And I realllllly don’t wanna get poked!” she finished in a whine, backing up against the wall as the fiend waddled towards her.  Seeing the object of his affection in danger finally sent Ormi into action.

“I’ll save you, Rikku!” he bellowed, charging at the Tonberry’s back. He tackled the fiend, bringing it to the ground with a thud. The poor Tonberry squeaked then wheezed, having the wind knocked out of it by Ormi’s weight.

“The knife! Rikku, get its knife!” Logos called.

Rikku grinned, then with a movement so fast Logos could barely follow it, she darted forward and snatched the chef’s knife from the fiend’s paw.

“It’s all in the wrist,” she pronounced proudly, brandishing the knife above her head. “You can let it go now, Ormi. I don’t think it can hurt us without the knife.”

Ormi clambered to his feet, still eyeing the Tonberry suspiciously. The small fiend slowly rose, coughing a little, then straightened its robe indignantly. It collected its lantern, which had been dropped in the tackle and had gone out, and looked around for its knife.

“Hmm, is _this_ what you’re looking for?” Rikku taunted, waving the knife over its head. The Tonberry looked up, then raised its little paws in the air and tried to grab the knife. Rikku held it just out of reach, and the short creature hopped up and down pathetically in an attempt to retrieve it.

“Unh unh,” Rikku declared, sticking the knife in her own pack. “You don’t get it back until you learn not to go around stabbing people.” The Tonberry hung its head and regarded its snuffed lantern miserably.

“Can we get on with it now?” Logos demanded. The others followed as he turned and started deeper into the cave—until a snuffle made Ormi stop and look back.

“Uh, Logos?” With a sigh, Logos looked over his shoulder as well. The Tonberry was sitting on the ground holding its nose in its paws. Tears had flooded its golden eyes and were spilling down its face. It snuffled again, then gave a muffled sob.

“Can’t we at least relight his lantern for him?” Ormi went on. “I feel sort of bad for the little guy.”

“Oh all right, just hurry up!” Logos tapped his foot as Ormi went over to the small fiend and rummaged in his pack for a match. Rikku bit her lip.

“I feel bad now too. Maybe I should give him his knife back.”

“Don’t you _dare_ , Rikku! It might stab me again!” Brother hid behind Logos, just in case. Meanwhile, Ormi had found a match, which he struck and used to relight the Tonberry’s lantern. The fiend perked up a little and clutched the lantern to its chest, peering up at Ormi with its shiny eyes.

“Uh, eheh. . . there you go, fella.” Ormi backed away to rejoin the others, but the Tonberry remained seated. It looked from the group of sphere hunters to its lantern, then back again. The tip of its tail twitched slightly. . . then it set down the lantern and started snuffling again.

“Geez!” Rikku cried, throwing her hands in the air. “Fine! Take your stupid knife back if you’re going to be such a baby about it!” She pulled the knife back out of her pack, stomped over to the Tonberry, and dropped the weapon in front of it. The Tonberry looked down at it, snatched it back up, then commenced bawling.

As Rikku walked back to the group, scratching her head, Brother yelled, “If you hadn’t taken its knife in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“You were the one complaining!” Rikku retorted. “And I don’t see you doing anything!”

Logos groaned. “Both of you, shut _up_! You’re giving me a headache.” He opened his own pack and looked for something that might entice a walking fish. “All I have is weapons, and I’m certainly not giving it anything _else_ to attack us with.”

“Here.” Logos looked up to see Brother holding out one of his earrings. “Maybe it likes jewelry.”

“If it’s anything like Brother, something shiny will amuse it for hours,” Rikku muttered, earning a chuckle from Ormi.

Logos took the earring and slowly approached the crying fiend. “Here. Now be _quiet_.”

The Tonberry sniffed back its tears and examined the earring in Logos’ outstretched hand, then snatched it from him. It cooed in pleasure over the shiny metal, thumping its tail happily on the ground.

“Finally,” Logos sighed, turning back to the others. “Let’s _go_ before anything else happens.” They started to walk on, but the Tonberry hopped to its feet and shuffled after them.

“ _Now_ what’s it doing?” Rikku muttered, eyeing the little fiend suspiciously. It trundled past them, then stopped just in front of them and motioned them forward with its paw.

“I think it wants us to follow it,” Ormi replied as he took a few steps forward. The Tonberry turned and waddled on a bit and looked over its shoulder at them. Rikku shrugged and went after Ormi.

“Are you _crazy_?” Brother yelled, waving his arms in the air. “It could be a trap!”

“What harm could it do?” Rikku called, already some distance away. “I’ll just take its knife again if it bothers us!”

Brother looked at Logos, who shrugged. “She’s _your_ sister.”

“Ach, you’re no help.” Brother grabbed his hand and dragged him after the others. Logos flushed at the feeling of longing that washed over him at the Al Bhed’s touch, even through his glove.  Brother rubbed his thumb over the back of Logos’s hand but let go as they caught up to Ormi and Rikku. The Tonberry was still plodding onward, its tail waving from side to side with each step. Finally they rounded a corner, and the fiend stopped and pointed.

“The sphere!” Rikku cried. Sure enough, they were facing into another dead end, but this one contained an elaborate stand holding a glowing sphere. “Score!” Rikku squealed as she ran up and grabbed it. As her little hand closed over it, the Tonberry made an eerie chuckling noise and shuffled off around the corner. Logos didn’t like the sound of that.

“Now that we have the thing, let’s leave, all right?” he said impatiently.

“Okay, okay, I’m comi—what was that?” Rikku stopped short as they heard a low rumbling throughout the cave.

“I don’t know but I don’t like the sound of it,” Ormi muttered, pulling his shield off his back. Logos drew his guns, and together they edged slowly back the way they had come to peer around the corner. Logos saw nothing, but the rumbling had clarified itself into a series of slow steady thuds. Footsteps. Very _large_ footsteps.

“I guess Doctor P was right,” Rikku said in a small voice as she crept up behind them. “Find a sphere and the fiends appear. . . .”

They didn’t have long to wait before they discovered the source of the thuds. A huge Cactuar, easily three times a human’s height, came lumbering towards them. . . and it looked _mad_.

“Yipe,” said Rikku. “That stupid Tonberry—”

“Never mind the Tonberry, what are we going to do about the giant cactus?” Brother cried, jumping up and down.

“Kick its butt,” Rikku said matter-of-factly. She grinned and drew her daggers. Logos wished he shared her confidence, but he took aim at the prickly fiend nevertheless.

“What am I supposed to do?” Brother was nearly in hysterics. “I don’t even have a weapon!”

“Here.” Logos handed him one of his pistols. “Can you shoot?”

“Hunh? What are you—you won’t even let the boss use your guns!” Ormi exclaimed.

“Yes, I can shoot,” Brother answered, ignoring the other two. “ _Dryhgc_.” He gave Logos a grateful smile. As the gigantic Cactuar bore down on the sphere hunters, Ormi charged at it, pitching his shield like a giant flying disc. It connected with one of the fiend’s tree-trunk-thick legs, making the large cactus wobble as the shield returned to Ormi’s hands. However, the fiend regained its balance and began stomping towards them again without so much as a limp. Logos fired a shot at the Cactuar’s head, but the bullet merely entered one carved eye and disappeared into the depths of the monster.

“Damn,” he swore, but Rikku was seized with a fit of mad giggles.

“It’s. . . it’s _hollow_!” she screeched. “I always wondered!”

“Never mind that!” Brother fired Logos’s gun wildly. The bullet ricocheted off the cavern wall and lodged itself into the Cactuar’s head.

“Hunh? How’d you do that?” Rikku asked, scratching her head.

“I’m an excellent shot!”

“Oh, quit showing off. You’re terrible! That time Yuna let you use her guns you nearly blew your own foot off—”

“ _Xiead_!” Brother snapped with a blush, but before the argument could continue, the Cactuar leaned over on one foot and began lowering its head towards them.

“Look out!” Ormi bellowed, throwing himself out of the line of fire just before the Cactuar shot a cluster of giant cactus spines at them. Logos and Brother scrambled out of the way but Rikku stumbled in her attempt to escape and caught half the needles in her back. She immediately collapsed.

“ _Rikku_!” Brother and Ormi cried at the same time, running to where the girl had fallen.

“Watch out!” Logos yelled at them, but they didn’t pay him or the giant fiend any attention. The Cactuar was jumping heavily from foot to foot as Logos fired another shot at it; then it started to position itself for a second volley of needles, aiming at the spot where Ormi and Brother crouched over Rikku.

“ _Stop_!” Logos’s only thought was to protect Brother, and he ran forward with the intention of trying to get between the Cactuar and the Al Bhed, though he doubted he could make it in time.

At the same moment, a tiny green shape darted out from a side passageway, making a loud, insistent chittering noise. It was the same little Cactuar who had been following Logos earlier. Logos stopped and watched in amazement as the small cactus squeaked and gestured to its gigantic counterpart, who actually appeared to be listening. It abandoned its firing pose and stood up straight again, peering down at the little one with its large hollow eyes. Logos wished desperately that he understood Cactuar, but whatever the small fiend said changed the large one’s mind about them. It turned away and stomped back the way it had come. The little Cactuar trotted over to Logos.

“Thank you,” Logos said awkwardly, crouching down to get a better look at it. One of the three large prickles on its head was bent, giving it a rather bedraggled appearance. Logos reached out a finger to touch the bent spine. “What happened to you?”

The Cactuar only cooed softly, rubbing the side of the deformed spine against his finger. Logos stood and rejoined the others. Ormi had picked up Rikku and was cradling her in his arms.

“We need to get her back to that Save Sphere,” he said, looking down at her worriedly.

“We should have just stayed there in the first place,” Logos commented, but no one paid any attention.

The little Cactuar accompanied them on their way back to the Save Sphere, and no other fiends bothered them. Ormi carefully laid Rikku next to the Sphere and touched her hand to it; her eyes fluttered open immediately.

“ _Fryd rybbahat_?” she murmured, rubbing her head.

“You got poked,” Brother replied succinctly.

“Ow!” Rikku pulled a stray needle from her side and looked at it ruefully. “I guess so. But!” She grinned and reached into her pack. “We got the sphere!”

“I wonder what’s on it,” Ormi mused, peering at the small object curiously.

“Only one way to find out!” Apparently none the worse for wear, Rikku hopped to her feet and put the sphere back in her pack. “Let’s see if those so-called friends of ours have come back to pick us up.”

They walked outside, Rikku skipping ahead with Ormi. Logos glanced at Brother, who seemed unusually sullen.

“Are you all right?”

“ _Eteud_! She nearly got herself killed. And to think _she_ is Father’s favorite.” Logos hid a smile. He knew Brother well enough by now to realize he was just glad Rikku was all right. While Rikku spoke into her comm unit to call the _Celsius_ , Logos took Brother’s arm and pulled him back just inside the entrance to the cave. Brother looked up at him, a little surprised, then melted against him as Logos took him in his arms.  It was an unusual display of affection for Logos, but it might be the last moment he had alone with Brother for a while.  The Al Bhed leaned up to kiss him, thrusting his tongue into Logos’s mouth with a soft moan. Logos trailed his hand down Brother’s back as they kissed, then reluctantly let the Al Bhed go. Brother kissed him one more time, lightly, and gave him a weak smile.

“We’re going to get left,” he muttered.  He and Logos left the cave and rejoined Ormi and Rikku—and the little Cactuar, who was staring up at the approaching _Celsius_ with a look of awe. As the ship landed and the boarding ramp extended, Yuna appeared and made a mad dash for Rikku.

“You’re all right!” She attacked her cousin with a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry—we saw the sand storm come up—I was afraid you were—oh, thank goodness!”

“Yup yup, Yunie, we’re fine.” Rikku giggled and returned the hug, then proudly displayed their prize. “Look what we got!”

“Oh, you found it!” Yuna clapped her hands together. “Splendiferous!”

“Yuna, you have been around Rikku too long!” Brother declared. “That is not a word!”

“It can be if Yunie wants it to be!” Rikku countered.

Yuna just smiled. “Sorry, Brother. I’m just glad you’re all safe.” She abruptly hugged Brother as well, making Logos clench his jaw in irritation.

“Perhaps I’m the only one, but I have had my fill of this desert,” he sniffed. “Could we please be on our way?”

“Yeah and I wanna see what’s on the sphere!” Rikku dashed up the ramp into the ship, her voice echoing after her. “Buddy! Paine! We got the spheeere, we got the spheeere!”

As the others followed, Logos noticed the little Cactuar still watching them. He hesitated before taking a few steps back towards it. “Erm. . . thank you for all your help.” The small cactus nodded. “Would you. . . I’m sure no one would mind if you wanted to come with us.”

The Cactuar looked up at him in amazement and shyly reached out a branch to touch the shiny surface of the ship’s ramp. Then, seeming to reach a decision, it shook its head. Its round carved mouth slowly curved into a smile.

“Thank. . . you,” it said slowly, in the common language. It rubbed its bent prickle and gave Logos a little bow; then it turned and scampered off into the forest of fully grown cacti. Feeling a little sad, Logos watched it go before he mounted the ramp into the _Celsius_.

\---

to be continued


	4. Chapter 4

On the ship’s bridge, Buddy used Shinra’s station to play the sphere. It was very old, judging from how the audio and visual quality had degraded, but it was possible to make out a thick growth of cacti. There were many more cacti than existed in the Cactuar Nation presently, and they all were moving and chittering, almost as if they were singing. The sphere recorder moved slowly through the plants until the sphere showed a clearing in their midst. Ten Cactuars were gathered there in a circle.

“Is it the Gatekeepers?” Rikku asked, scratching her head.

“I don’t think so,” Paine replied in her quiet, husky voice. “This was taken long ago. It might be their ancestors.”

As they watched, the Cactuars began to dance, hopping from foot to foot as they moved, circling the open spot at their center. They danced faster and faster as the voices of the grown cacti around them raised in a definite chorus. Both the dancing and the singing increased in speed until the Cactuars were but a green blur and the melody of the song was lost. And then—it all stopped.

The cacti fell completely silent, and the ten Cactuars froze. In unison they all lifted their right leg-like branches and plunged them into the sand, then did the same with the left branches. They raised both arms high and slowly closed their eyes and mouths. To the humans’ amazement, their faces faded and through subtle changes, their anthropomorphic qualities disappeared as well. The last image of the sphere was of the clearing now slightly smaller, its borders now marked by ten new adult cacti. Then the sphere’s playback faded into static.

“What was it?” Yuna asked softly.

“A Cactuar rooting ceremony.” Buddy took the sphere from the player and handed it back to Rikku. “It’s an Al Bhed legend, but no beings other than the Cactuars have ever witnessed it. Well,” he amended, “except for whoever took this sphere. And us.”

“Wow,” Rikku breathed. “That means this sphere is worth a _lot_!”

Logos suddenly thought of his small Cactuar friend. “Maybe we should give it back.”

The others stared at him. “Are you nuts?” Ormi bellowed. “The boss would kill us! Our half of the gil alone will be thousands!”

“Yes, but. . . .” Logos trailed off, unsure of how to say what he felt.

“But is this something that everyone in Spira should see?” Paine finished. Logos looked at her gratefully, and she gave him a slight nod. “Perhaps it should remain sacred, for the Cactuars alone.”

“Don’t be silly!” Rikku tossed her braids indignantly.

“That giant Cactuar didn’t seem too happy that we took it,” Brother murmured.

“Yeah, and then the little one with the crush on Logos chased it off!” Rikku returned. “It _wanted_ us to have it! I say we go find Leblanc and then sell it!”

“I’m with Rikku!” Ormi declared.

“Of course you are,” snapped Logos.

“Hey, let’s not fight.” Yuna’s soft voice broke into the argument. “We can pick up Leblanc and see what _she_ wants to do with it, and then decide.”

Logos already knew that there wasn’t a chance in the Farplane Leblanc would want to give back the sphere, but there was no point in saying so. However, when he and Ormi went to collect the boss at the excavation camp, no one had seen their boss. They finally learned from Nhadala that Leblanc had fled back to Guadosalam at the first sign of the sandstorm.

“I can’t say I was sorry to see her go either,” the Al Bhed woman muttered.

After Logos and Ormi returned to the _Celsius_ , the Gullwings agreed to accompany them back to the chateau.  As Buddy turned the _Celsius_ towards Guadosalam, he looked over his shoulder at the other Al Bheds, Logos, and Ormi.

“It’s going to be a long flight, and you guys look pretty tired.  Why don’t you go take a nap?  I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

Rikku yawned widely. “Great idea!”

“You two can use mine and Shinra’s beds,” Buddy offered to Logos and Ormi. “Brother’ll show you where they are.”

Rikku disappeared into the girls’ sleeping loft in the ship’s cabin. The male sleeping quarters, a room located over the bar, weren’t quite as nice but to Logos’s aching back, any bed was welcome. Ormi collapsed on the first bed they came to and began snoring almost immediately. Brother went to his own bed at the far end of the room, leaving Logos the one in the middle. As he removed his helmet and boots, Brother sat on the edge of his own bed, raking a hand through his mohawk.

“I think we should have given the sphere back,” he muttered.

“I know.” Logos sighed. “But it’s not the first thing I’ve felt guilty about doing for the boss.”

Brother pulled off his fingerless gloves and dropped them on the bedside table.  Logos noticed that the Al Bhed’s tattoos extended over the backs of his hands.

“Didn’t that hurt?”  After a quick glance to be sure Ormi was really asleep, Logos took one of Brother’s hands in his and drew his finger across its back.

“What, the ink?  Nah.”  Brother blushed and smiled ruefully.  “I got really drunk first.  It was a little sore afterward, and it cost a lot. . . but I think it was worth it.”  He paused, then asked coyly, “Do you?”

“Do I think it was worth it?  I wouldn’t have done it to myself, but. . . .”  He eyed the pattern of flames on Brother’s chest; it seemed to naturally draw his eyes downward, and left him wondering just how much of Brother was tattooed below the waist.  “But on you the effect is stunning.”  He was embarrassed to find himself somewhat breathless.

Brother leaned forward over the gap between the two beds and tugged on Logos’s hand, drawing him forward as well.  He kissed the gunner lightly, then drew his tongue across Logos’s lips.  Logos felt an almost painful stab of lust and in spite of himself thought that if Brother’s hand moved to his thigh, this time he wouldn’t pull away.

The Al Bhed didn’t touch him, however, only kissed him.  Brother teased Logos’s lower lip between his teeth, then thrust his tongue in and out of his mouth rapidly.  Logos forced himself not to moan, just in case the noise could penetrate Ormi’s raucous snoring.  He pressed his mouth hard against Brother’s, forcing his own tongue into the Al Bhed’s mouth.  Brother squirmed and clutched Logos’s hand tightly as they kissed, not pulling back until he was completely out of breath.

“ _Mujan_ ,” he panted.  “You’re going to drive me crazy.”  Logos rather felt that he was the one going crazy, but he didn’t argue the point.  Brother stretched and lay back on his bed.  “I am going to sleep,” the Al Bhed announced, closing his blue-shadowed eyes pointedly, “before you tempt me any more.”

“Oh yes, blame it all on me,” Logos said wryly.  Nevertheless, Brother really did go to sleep.  Logos lay awake for some time, watching the Al Bhed’s tattooed chest rising and falling with his breath.  Eventually the rhythmic motion made him drowsy, and he fell asleep as well.

\--

When Logos woke up, he was alone in the sleeping quarters.  He sat up groggily and was pulling on his boots and helmet when Ormi came waddling into the room.

“Ain’t you up yet?” he griped.  “We’re at Guadosalam, and everybody’s waitin’ for you so we can go down!”

“Like _you_ never oversleep.”  Logos tucked a stray strand of hair under his helmet and stood.  “Fine, let’s go.”

The three female members of the Gullwings accompanied Logos and Ormi down to Guadosalam, along with Brother who insisted on being included as one of the finders of the sphere. They found Leblanc drifting about the entrance hall to her chateau, dictating something about flowers to a small group of FemGoons.

“Oh, there you are,” the boss said when she finally noticed her henchmen. She appeared not to even see the Gullwings. “Did you get the sphere?”

“Yeah, boss, but—” Ormi began, but he was interrupted by Brother.

“That is what we are here to discuss!”

Leblanc finally noticed the rival sphere hunters. “Oh? You’re here too? How convenient, it will save me from having to send you invitations.”

“Invitations? To what? You havin’ a party?” Rikku asked, dancing from one foot to the other.

“Oh, only the biggest celebration of the year,” Leblanc declared, waving her fan in the air. “After the ceremony, of course.”

“Ceremony?” Paine folded her arms and arched an eyebrow.

“You mean you haven’t heard yet?” Leblanc looked genuinely shocked. “Noojie and I are finally getting married!”

“Oh!” Yuna cried in surprise. The rest of them just looked at Leblanc, or at each other. Rikku shrugged and shook her head.

“We haven’t set a date yet, but I’m sure it will be _very_ soon,” Leblanc went on, oblivious. “I’ll let you know all the details later, like what you’ll be expected to wear. You three girls will be my bridesmaids, of course—”

“What!” Paine exploded.

“—so I’ll be putting together a dressphere for you. Oh yes,” turning back to Ormi and Logos, “where is the Bilkanel sphere?”

“Um, boss, with all due respect, isn’t this a bit sudden?” Logos put in.

“Sudden?” Leblanc laughed. “Of course not, in fact, I’m surprised it’s taken my Noojie-woojie this long to propose, but I’m sure he just wanted to wait until all this business with Vegnagun and the little tiff with New Yevon was over. After all, he wouldn’t want _anything_ to distract him from our wedding—and oh, the honeymoon! It will be just _glorious_! Anyhow, Logos, quit stalling and give me that sphere!”

“That’s what we came down here to talk about,” Rikku said as she reached into her pack and pulled out the sphere. “Brother and I helped Logos and Ormi find it, so we’re thinking of selling it and splitting the gil.” She did not, Logos noticed, even mention the prospect of giving the sphere back to the Cactuars.

Now it was Leblanc’s turn to screech, “ _What_?”

“It _would_ be the fair thing to do,” Yuna pointed out.

“You can’t do that! That sphere is my wedding gift to my Noojie!”

“You didn’t even help look for it!” Brother yelled, in almost a shrill a voice as Leblanc’s. “I am the Gullwings’ leader, and I say we sell it!”

“Well, I am the Syndicate’s leader, and I say it’s mine, you weird-looking freak!” She glared at Logos and Ormi. “Don’t just stand there, back me up!”

“Hey, you two helped find it, stand up for yourselves for once!” Rikku urged them. “You’re always doing all the work for _her_!”

“And I pay them very well for it!”

“Oh, let’s just give it to her,” Paine grumbled, turning her back on the whole affair. “It’s the simplest thing.”

“But—but—oooogh!” Brother stomped his boot in frustration.

“I have an idea,” Yuna said with a hint of desperation in her voice. “Why don’t we let Leblanc have the sphere—and it can be _our_ wedding present to her. I know I didn’t help find it, but I think it would be a very nice gesture on our part.”

“Yuuunie!” Rikku whined, her shoulders slumping. “I got knocked out by a giant cactus for this!” She sighed heavily and looked at the sphere, then at Brother, Ormi, and Logos. “Well. . . I _guess_ I’m okay with giving it to her. What about you guys?”

“All right,” Logos replied. He hadn’t really expected to get anything out of the ordeal; had they sold the sphere, Leblanc would have gotten most of the Syndicate’s share of the gil anyway. Brother gave him a slightly irritated look, but when Ormi agreed as well, the Gullwings’ leader gave in.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But only this once!”

“Yeah, sure,” Leblanc said without listening as she snatched the sphere out of Rikku’s hand. “Now run along, loves, we have a lot of work to do here!” She drifted upstairs with the sphere, calling orders out after her. “Ormi, go talk to the chef about planning the menu. And Logos, you get started on the invitations!”

“Poor Nooj,” Rikku commented when Leblanc had disappeared. “He must have no idea what he’s getting into.”

“I never thought they’d actually get married,” mused Yuna. “I mean. . . he just doesn’t seem like the type to. . . . you know. Marry Leblanc.”

“Let’s go.” Paine was already out the door as she spoke the words. Rikku and Yuna exchanged worried glances; then Yuna gave Logos and Ormi a rather strained smile.

“Let us know when Leblanc sets the date!”

“We will,” Logos assured her. Yuna left, followed by Rikku who gave Ormi a wave that sent him all but floating off to the kitchen. Logos and Brother were left alone.

“I’m. . . sorry we had to give her the sphere,” Logos said awkwardly, regretting it mostly for the look Brother had given him.

“You two need to stand up to her more,” the Al Bhed replied, then to Logos’s relief, his full lips curved into a smile. “But it is okay. If Nooj really does use the spheres to learn about Spira, then perhaps it will be in the best hands.” He moved closer to Logos and wrapped his arms around the gunner’s neck. “I’ll miss you, _mujan_.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Logos kissed him deeply; then Brother left before anyone came to see why he was taking so long. Logos sighed heavily after the Al Bhed was gone. The last thing he felt like doing was to compose the florid wedding announcement Leblanc would want. In fact, he didn’t want to think about weddings at all, or even to wonder how she had managed to finally wring a proposal out of Nooj.  Logos could not picture Nooj being tender or romantic, could not imagine him making love to or kissing or so much as embracing Leblanc. It was just part of Leblanc’s mystery, which he and Ormi had accepted in return for a new life after their horrific stint with the Crimson Squad.

Somehow, Leblanc almost always got what she wanted, whether it was a sphere or a husband.  Perhaps she even deserved it, for beneath her vanity she was a truly warm, affectionate woman. She was spoiled, yet it was the kind of spoiled which, when she got what she desired, gave freely to those loyal to her. Logos, Ormi, and all of her other employees lived a life in the chateau which they could have hardly imagined before, and they followed and served Leblanc, put up with her mood swings and quirks, out of true love for her.

Logos could not envision Nooj loving Leblanc, but it was obvious that Leblanc really did love Nooj. If she had wanted mere power, she could have pursued Baralai, or more logically, someone older rather than younger such as the wealthy Al Bhed, Lord Rin. Anyone but the sullen, half-machina Nooj, he who was called Death-seeker, who would not mind his own death even for her sake. It would never occur to Leblanc that Nooj was not worthy of her.

Still, despite Logos’s misgivings about the wedding itself, there was one benefit to it all: the necessary preparations would keep him too busy to miss Brother.

\--

to be continued


	5. Chapter 5

As it turned out, Logos didn’t see Brother again until the wedding, which occurred about a month later. He didn’t even get to deliver the bridesmaid dressphere to the Gullwings; that task fell to one of the goons while Logos spent hours poring over the guest list with Leblanc. There were a few brief communications between the chateau and the _Celsius_ , but those for which Logos was present were always with Yuna or Rikku.

The bridesmaids’ dresses were extremely frilly, pink concoctions of Leblanc’s devising. Rikku seemed to find her duties in the wedding party highly amusing, and Yuna accepted it with her usual good humor, but Logos had been apprehensive over Paine. Although it had never crossed the mind of the self-absorbed Leblanc, Logos sensed that something lay in the past between Paine and Nooj. The crimson-eyed girl rarely spoke and seemed a total stranger to Nooj at most times, yet something about her attitude to Leblanc’s betrothed, and his to her, belied a history. Logos noticed it only because Paine was, in a way, quite similar to himself—aloof, reticent, still waters on a lake that ran deep.

Nooj’s best men consisted of Baralai, Gippal, and as a favor to Leblanc, Ormi and Logos. Logos would have been just as happy to remain in the considerable audience. Looking out there now, his eyes fell on the rest of the Gullwings: Brother, Buddy, and Shinra, on leave from his studies The young Al Bhed was wearing his usual full-body suit, but Buddy was dressed more formally than normal. Brother, Logos saw, had dressed up for the occasion by wearing a tie. He hadn’t gone so far as to wear a shirt, however. Tidus was seated next to Shinra, there as Yuna’s escort even though he and Leblanc had never met.  As Logos watched, Brother’s eyes moved to study Yuna in her pink stupidity of a dress.  Logos scowled and looked away.

The ceremony, performed by Tromell, was surprisingly brief. In fact, it was less than half as long as originally planned: apparently Nooj only had so much patience, even with Leblanc, and although Logos had not been present for the argument, it was said to have been spectacular. Nooj had won, probably to the benefit of all involved.

After the actual ceremony was out of the way, the party began. It was, Logos suspected, what most of the guests were there for anyway. The rest of the hall was opened up, and the band—consisting of the Macalania Woods musicians who now resided in Guadosalam—began to play. The affair had been arranged by Tobli, whom Leblanc hired based on his new reputation as the best showman in Spira. Logos wasn’t exactly fond of the short beaked person (and why did he have a beak anyway, since he had a perfectly functional human mouth right under it?), but he had to admit Tobli knew how to plan a party.

The best men were expected to dance the first dance with the bridesmaids, which wouldn’t have been such as issue had there not been four men for three girls. There was a mad dash on the part of Gippal and Ormi to see who could get to Rikku first. Baralai and Paine made a token attempt at dancing, but were clearly more interested in seeing which partner the fair Rikku would choose, judging from the way they were craning their necks. That left Logos facing his unwitting rival for Brother’s affections.

“Lady Yuna,” he said, trying to be polite as he offered her his arm. She smiled and accepted, somehow managing to look poised in the ridiculous bridesmaid’s dress. She too cast a glance in Rikku’s direction, but it seemed that Rikku had spurned both her pursuers in favor of cake and punch. A fond, knowing smile crossed Yuna’s lips at her cousin’s behavior; then she turned her attention to dancing.

“Leblanc looks very lovely,” the summoner commented. “And very happy.”

“Yes, she has been preparing a long time for this day. I’m just thankful it went off smoothly.”

“I imagine you are.” Yuna smiled up at him, and as usual, Logos found himself unable to dislike her, even if Brother _had_ been staring at her. Logos looked around for the Al Bhed, but the floor was now crowded with dancing couples and his view was obstructed.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“Er, ah, no,” Logos stammered, forcing his attention back to his dance partner. “That is, I was trying to keep an eye on Ormi. I don’t want him embarrassing the boss on her wedding night; she’d never forgive me.”

“I see.” For an instant, there was a playfully knowing look in her mismatched eyes Logos didn’t trust, but then it was gone. “I didn’t know Ormi was so. . . fond of Rikku. Did something happen with them when you were in Bilkanel?”

“Not that I am aware of. Although, we got separated and they were alone for a time.” This brought back memories of what had happened to _him_ while Rikku and Ormi were alone, and Logos talked faster to force the thoughts from his mind. “I’m sure nothing happened though. Ormi is overly emotional at times, but he would have behaved properly. Besides, he probably just has a crush on her, and he’ll get over it soon. Rikku is quite a pretty young woman, and since the boss is the only woman we’re around most of the time, it’s understandable that he. . . .” Logos trailed off, aware that Yuna was staring at him with an amused expression on her face. “Yes? Is something wrong?”

“I don’t think you’ve talked this much before in the entire time I’ve known you.”

“Oh. Relief, I suppose, that everything has gone all right.”

Yuna nodded. “Tobli did an excellent job with everything.” Finally the song ended and Logos was able to turn Yuna over to Tidus, who was waiting for the next dance. Logos found an unoccupied spot along the wall, still scanning the crowd for Brother. Paine and Buddy were now dancing, as were Leblanc and Baralai. Gippal, who lacked his white-haired friend’s sense of propriety, seemed to be mercilessly teasing Nooj.

Logos finally spotted Brother, but only because Rikku was talking to him, and the combination her wild blonde hair and pink dress made was impossible to miss. As Logos watched, Rikku pointed at a young, dark-haired girl standing awkwardly by the punch bowl. Brother left Rikku and went up to the girl.  There was some kind of exchange, then to Logos’s surprise and irritation, they began dancing together.

He turned away, only to find Ormi at his side, holding a plate piled with refreshments. “Ain’t this a great party?” Ormi said happily. “The boss sure knew what she was doing, hiring that little beak-faced guy. This is the best cake I’ve had in years!”

“I’m delighted you’re enjoying yourself,” Logos muttered.

“What, and you ain’t?” Ormi seemed genuinely surprised. Before Logos could answer, Rikku came bouncing over.

“Hey, what’s shakin’?” She snatched a cookie off Ormi’s plate and stuffed half of it into her mouth.

“I, uh. . . .” Ormi stammered nervously.

“Perhaps I should go check on Leblanc.” Logos tried to escape, but Rikku held him back with a wave of her hand.

“Oh, she’s fine,” she giggled. “She has her Noojie-woojie to take care of her now, so you guys get to take a break! Oooh, listen to that music!” Rikku went on as the musicians began playing a faster upbeat tune. The girl danced in place, shaking her pink-ruffle-adorned hips in time to the music. “How can you stand still?”

“Uh,” was all Ormi could manage as he stared.

“Oh, come on.” Rikku took the plate of food out of his hand and presented it to Logos, then grabbed Ormi’s arm and dragged him out to dance. Logo was left fuming over the plate of half-eaten party food. He all but threw it down on a nearby table and stalked along the edge of the crowd towards the hall’s exit.

“Logos!” He almost didn’t hear his name and would have ignored it if someone hadn’t grabbed his arm. He turned to see Brother beside him. “Where are you going? I was looking for you.”

“You must not have looked very hard,” Logos retorted. “And I’m going outside. I can hardly breathe in here.” He went on, telling himself he didn’t care if Brother followed him or not.

Brother did follow him, not only outside the hall but out to the edge of Guadosalam, where its entrance opened onto the road that led to the Moonflow. Night had fallen, though the light from Guadosalam and the Moonflow made it bright enough to see.

“This must be a strange night for you,” Brother said abruptly.

“How so?”

“Well, with Leblanc getting married, your whole life is going to change, right?” Logos was reminded of Rikku’s words, and of something that had only occurred to him that night. _The boss won’t need us anymore. . . ._

“I suppose,” he said aloud.

“Yeah. I started thinking. . . .”  Brother looked out at the Moonflow with the light reflecting back from his green eyes.  “Everything has to change, you know? It’s like. . . we are seagulls ourselves. We meet in the air and brush wings. . . then we are gone.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

Brother shook his head slowly. “No. Not anymore. Things will happen like they are gonna happen. There’s no point in worrying.”

Logos wondered if he would ever be able to appreciate that kind of philosophy. It was his nature to worry—Yevon knew he had had to do enough of it to make up for Leblanc’s total lack of concern for most things. He looked morosely at Brother, who had his shaved head tilted back to gaze at the stars. _We brush wings. . . then we’re gone._ Was Brother trying to tell him something? Or was Logos reading too much into the Al Bhed’s words—into his dancing with someone else?

Logos did not speak again, although Brother said things from time to time, commenting on a star or the noise of a night creature in the trees behind them. Some time later, the sound of laughter reached them, then drew closer until it proved to be the rest of the Gullwings, accompanied by Tidus, Baralai, and Gippal, drifting out of Guadosalam.

“Brother! Paine caught the bouquet,” Yuna giggled when she saw them, nearly tripping in an excess of mirth.

“I didn’t catch it,” Paine muttered. She clutched the cluster of mauve and pink roses before her awkwardly.

“Yeah, it hit her in the head!” Rikku screeched in laughter.

“Rikku!” Paine glared at her friend, who gave a look of mock worry and hid behind Yuna and Tidus.

“Congratulations. I can’t think of a lovelier recipient,” Logos heard himself say. Where had those words come from? They surprised the group of young people as much as they did him, and they, especially Brother, cast him startled looks.

“Well. Thank you,” Paine said, nonplussed but sincere. “Although,” she went on, her tone taking on her occasional note of wry humor, “I’ll have to wait a while.”

“I caught the garter!” Shinra announced with an air of importance that was immediately dispelled when he sniffed wetly and rubbed at his nose through his mask.

“ _You_ weren’t even supposed to be in the running, little man,” Gippal scolded, giving Shinra a noogie. “You should have given us older guys a chance to make it with Dr. P.”

“You’re impossible. Every one of you,” Paine announced, throwing her hands in the air. She pointed the bouquet severely at the giggling Yuna. “And that goes for you as well.” She thrust the bouquet at Logos. “You’re the only one with any sense, so _you_ can give this back to Leblanc.  I’m sure she’ll want to keep it.”

“Yes, my lady,” Logos replied sardonically as he took the flowers. His response apparently pleased Paine, who gave him a small, genuine smile. The others burst into laughter—all except for Brother.

Suddenly, Logos was tired of all of them. He would always be grateful to the Gullwings and the former Crimson Squad for what they had done for Leblanc, but in the end, they were still children, even Paine. Even Nooj.

“ _There_ you are!” Ormi’s arrival interrupted Logos’s thoughts and saved him from having to make an excuse to leave. “I been lookin’ everywhere for you! The boss has called a meeting.”

“Now? Boy, her timing stinks,” Rikku declared, wrinkling her little nose. “Working on her wedding night!”

“She just has her priorities in order,” Logos snapped as he turned to follow Ormi inside.

“Wow, who peed in _his_ Ochu Flakes?” he heard Rikku say as he left.

\--

An hour later, Logos sat alone before the mirror in his bedroom. _What now?_ he wondered, staring at his reflection. He had expected this, he supposed, but not so soon. . . .  A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

“It’s unlocked,” Logos growled, expecting Ormi had come to both him.  However, when the door creaked open, it was Brother who stuck his head in the room.

“Can I come in?” the Al Bhed asked.

Logos nodded, too surprised to ask what Brother was doing there or how he had found the room.  _If he got directions from Ormi, I’ll have to face a million questions,_ Logos thought.

Brother looked around at Logos’s small, tidy room curiously as he shut the door behind him.  The Al Bhed sat down on the bed, behind Logos and the dressing table, and met Logos’s eyes through their reflections in the mirror. “What did Blondie have to say?”

“She’s not going to hunt spheres anymore. We all have to find somewhere else to go.” Logos took off his helmet to let his hair loose, then picked up a brush and began drawing it through the long strands with an efficient motion.

Brother’s reflection in the mirror blinked at him.  “But I thought you were going to join the Gullwings when this happened.”

“Maybe I’ve changed my mind.”

“Oh,” Brother said in a small voice. Logos looked fiercely into his own reflected eyes, ignoring the other man’s interjection.

“Ormi can do whatever he wants,” Logos went on. “I’m sure he’d be happy to be around your sister all the time. Poor fool, he’ll never figure out that she’s just playing with him.”

“What?” Brother half-rose. “Rikku’s not—”

“Nothing is serious to her.” Logos dropped the brush on the dressing table with a sharp crack. “She thinks it’s fun to string Ormi along, and Gippal, and whoever else she can snare, when she has no intention of devoting herself to anyone.”

“Why are you so mad at Rikku all of a sudden?” Brother asked, flailing his arms about as he dropped back into a sitting position on the bed. “What did she do to _you_?”

“She’s just like you.”

“But. . . .” Brother, unable to remain still as usual, got up again and paced the length of the small room.

“‘We brush wings, then we’re gone,’” Logos quoted bitterly. “I’m as big a fool as Ormi. You said yourself, you were ‘just looking.’”

“What?”  Brother stopped, facing him, and cried, “But you’re the one flying away!  You could join us—”

“And have to see you with someone else, like that girl you were dancing with? Or barring that, watch you ogle Lady Yuna like you did during the ceremony?”

“You. . . _you_ said there was someone else,” Brother mumbled.  “Someone you loved, who didn’t realize. . . .”

Logos scowled.  “As for love—perhaps Nooj was right when he said it was the ultimate illusion.”

Brother finally stopped moving. “That girl, Calli. . . she is our friend. Rikku told me she has a crush on me, and that I should make her happy by asking her to dance. But there’s nothing. . . she likes me because she thinks I look like a Chocobo.” The Al Bhed shrugged his shoulders with a helpless, humorless smile.  “Do you. . . want to know what I was thinking when I was looking at Yuna?”

Logos had to fight to keep his voice steady; his heart was already softening with Brother’s explanation of Calli.  “Enlighten me.”

“I was thinking about how beautiful she would look in her own wedding dress someday soon, with Tidus next to her.”  Brother sat down on the bed again, dangling his long arms between his knees and staring down at his tattooed wrists.  “And maybe you didn’t notice, but I was looking at you too and thinking that the way you looked, so happy for Leblanc’s sake. . . that is how I will feel when Yuna gets married. Glad for her happiness. I will always love Yuna, because she’s my cousin, and my sister’s best friend. Because she is the High Summoner.  That kind of love is not an illusion. . . and neither is what I used to feel for her.”  He sighed and flicked his eyes back up to the mirror.  “But it is not what I feel now.”

Logos was unable to hold the green gaze in the mirror, and he looked down at his own hands resting on the dressing table. “What do you feel now, then?”

The bed creaked as Brother stood and went to him, crouching down next to his chair.  When Logos finally looked down into the Al Bhed’s wide green eyes, he saw that Brother’s makeup was smudged, making dark circles streaked with blue and bronze under them.

“I want you to join us. Do not fly away from me. . . please.” When Logos didn’t, couldn’t speak, Brother closed his eyes and rested his forehead on Logos’s thigh, but not before a tear ran a track of eyeliner down his cheek. “ _Bmayca, so caykimm. . . . E muja oui._ ”

Logos had no idea what Brother had just said, but the sincerity in his voice was plain.  Logos’s fingers drifted to Brother’s ruffled blonde mohawk and stroked it. A shudder went through the Al Bhed’s body, and he pressed his head into Logos’s touch.

“I’ll. . . .”  Logos swallowed hard.  He still wasn’t sure he was making the wisest decision, but he pressed on, “I’ll come with you, after I’m sure Leblanc doesn’t need us anymore.”

“You will?” Brother looked up at him again, rubbing at his eyes a little and smearing his makeup even more. Logos’s hands slipped behind his head, holding the Al Bhed still as he bent down and kissed him. Brother wrapped his arms around Logos’s waist and clung to him, laying his head in his lap when Logos drew back.

“Where does the boss have you sleeping tonight?” Logos asked, returning his hand to the soft blond hair.

“I have to share a room with Shinra,” Brother mumbled with undisguised resentment. “One of us will be dead by morning.”

“In that case, perhaps you’d better sleep here,” Logos said with a little smile. “I don’t want to be an accessory to murder.” He stood, pulling Brother up with him, and wiped the smudged makeup from under the Al Bhed’s eyes with a tissue. Brother permitted it, then laced his fingers through Logos’s long hair and kissed him hard.

“I was starting to think you were leaving me for Paine,” Brother whispered as he nuzzled Logos’s neck.

“No, I’ll. . . I’ll let Shinra have her.” A soft moan escaped Logos’s lips as Brother nibbled at his jaw.

Logos closed his hand over Brother’s and brought it to his lips, kissing the Al Bhed’s fingertips.  Brother pulled his hand away long enough to remove his fingerless gloves before he put his hand back to the gunner’s mouth.  Logos caressed first his palm, then the back of his hand where the tattoo covering Brother’s arm ended in aqua flame.  Brother laid his hand against the side of Logos’s jaw and held his head still as he leaned up on his toes to kiss the taller man again.

“You have had a long day,” Brother whispered.  “You should rest, _mujan_.”

A few moments later, once they lay curled up together in bed, Brother murmured, “ _Kuut hekrd_. That’s Al Bhed for good night.” He chuckled softly. “I’ll have to teach you the language if you’re going to be a Gullwing.”

“I’ll do my best to learn,” Logos promised.

Slowly Logos’s eyes grew used to the darkness, and the familiar shapes of the objects in his room silhouetted themselves in greyness. What would it be like to fall asleep aboard an airship, when for the past two years the chateau had been home to him? The Syndicate had brought him comfort and safety.  (Well, security was a better word; nearly getting killed by Vegnagun didn’t count as “safe.”) He didn’t think the Gullwings could provide that. Then Brother, already asleep, stirred against him, and Logos thought, _But to have him beside me—that will be enough._

Logos had just drifted into a doze when loud laughter from the hallway outside his door startled him fully awake. He dragged himself out of bed and pulled his coat about him, intending to give the noisy culprits a sound talking-to, but he changed his mind when he recognized the laughter as belonging to Ormi and Rikku. Logos crouched down at his door and peered out through the keyhole. He couldn’t see anything but the hallway at first; then Ormi waddled into his field of vision.  Logos couldn’t make out what the two were saying until he turned his head and pressed his ear to the keyhole instead of his eye.

“. . . Seriously though, I don’t know _what_ we’re gonna do now that the boss is lettin’ us go,” Ormi was saying.

“You mean she’s kicking you out?” Rikku asked.

“No, course not. She said we could stay in the chateau until we found other jobs. But geez. . . . What else is we gonna do? Logos is smart an’ all, so maybe he could figure something out, but me. . . all I know how to do is fight.”

“You’re every bit as smart as Logos!” Rikku protested, earning a scowl from the eavesdropper. “And besides, you know how to hunt spheres, right?”

“Yeah, but nobody hunts spheres by themselves,” argued Ormi. “And the groups that hang around here. . . well, let’s just say they don’t like us very much. The boss was always the best—‘cept for you guys of course—so the other gangs’re really gonna get a kick outta her quittin’. There’s no way they’d let us join.”

“Well, why don’t you join the Gullwings?” suggested Rikku.  “You and Logos both!”

“Really?” Ormi sounded excited, though he quickly added, “Oh, we couldn’t do that.  I mean, we was your rivals and all.”

“Oh, don’t be silly! You helped us beat Vegnagun! That’s more than enough to make us friends.” There was a pause before Rikku teased, “Unless you think you couldn’t keep up with us!”

“Course we can!” Ormi replied defensively. “But. . . you sure it’s okay? I mean, Lady Yuna won’t mind? And your brother, if he’s your leader—”

“Actually, Yuna’s leaving too. Don’t tell anyone, ‘cos only me and Paine are supposed to know, but Yuna’s going back to Besaid to be with Tidus. I bet Leblanc won’t be the only new bride soon!” Rikku giggled, then went on, “And as for Brother. . . well. . . you think Logos is gonna want to come too?”

“Probably.” Ormi sounded a little confused. “I don’t think he has any other plans lined up.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about Brother.”

Logos felt his cheeks grow hot, even as Ormi asked, “Why not?”

“Well, uh. . . you and Logos work so well together, if _both_ of you offer to join us, he’s not gonna say no. After all, the four of us made a pretty good team in Bilkanel, right?”

“Yeah. . . yeah!”  Ormi sounded more convinced.  “That settles it, I’ll talk to Logos in the morning. It may be a few weeks though, ‘cos I wanna stick around until the boss gets back from her honeymoon, just to be sure she don’t need us anymore.”

“Ooh, we’re gonna have so much fun!” Rikku was cut off by a huge yawn. “Wow, I’d better get some sleep. . . . Paine’ll be wondering where I am anyway. Don’t want her to get suspicious!”

“Suspicious of what?”

“Oh, nothing.” Rikku laughed again. “See you in the morning—and don’t forget to talk to Logos!”

“I won’t,” Ormi assured her.

Logos looked through the keyhole again to be sure Ormi wasn’t coming to have that talk with him right then.  He was just in time to witness Rikku kissing Ormi on the cheek before she scampered off. Ormi looked after her with a deep blush and look of absolute bliss on his face. He stood there long after the girl disappeared, then walked toward his own room. Much relieved, Logos straightened up, wincing at the stiffness in his knees.

_I can’t be getting old enough to have arthritis. Maybe Ormi isn’t the one who needs to worry about keeping up with the Gullwings. . . ._

“Logos?” Brother’s sleepy voice reached him from the bed.

“I’m right here.” Logos dropped his coat on the floor and got back into bed. He slid his arms around Brother, and the Al Bhed held him tightly in response.

“I woke up,” Brother mumbled, only half coherent, “and you weren’t there. . . . I thought. . . .”

“Shh.  I heard a noise, but it was just Ormi. Go back to sleep.” Logos sought his lips in the near darkness and kissed them softly. “ _Kuut hekrd_.”

“Mm.” Brother murmured something that might have been Al Bhed or only gibberish before falling asleep once more against Logos’s chest.

Logos rested his head against Brother’s hair, his thoughts returning to Nooj’s opinion of love.  The Deathseeker’s words had bothered Logos from time to time, not personally but because Leblanc had heard them too.  She had been right there when he said them, and yet she was now bound to him by marriage, she who believed in love so utterly. Was it because of Paine that Nooj said it?

Whatever the reason, Nooj was wrong.

\--

The End


End file.
